As others see us…

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, June 2, 2008

They’ve lived and learned among us for almost a year and now the foreign exchange students are preparing to return to their home countries.

Before they go, though, a few who participated in the American Field Service Program offered to share what they learned during their cultural immersion experience stateside.

Camilo Zambra, Marco Bozzolo, and Natzuki Suzuki said they have found their time here to be a mixture of surprises, cultural challenges, and the discovery that teenagers are the same everywhere.

Zambra, 18, from Chile, plays trumpet at High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He came here because he wanted to improve his trumpet playing and because of his love for American jazz.

“At HSPVA, I get to take so many music classes, and the school is a lot of fun. No one forces you to participate, everyone at this school wants to be the best and everyone has an opportunity to be a part of it. And the teachers are very open and easy to talk to.”

Living with an American family has meant being more independent and having responsibilities such as doing his own laundry, he said.

Bozzolo, 17, from Italy, wanted to see the world and in particular, America. He keeps his hometown updated in the form of newspaper stories. In one of his articles he wrote, “My school, Lamar High School, is considered like a second city within a big city. . . In Italy, my school had only about 200 students and my first day of school at Lamar was a shock.”

He loves soccer and when not playing on the team at Lamar, he also plays with the Houstonians FC, an elite traveling team, and has participated in soccer tournaments from Oklahoma to Florida.

“In America, I have learned to accept everyone, no matter color or race. I found American society very welcoming and open,” he said. “Here, it doesn’t matter where you are from, it only matters what you do.” His biggest surprise about Americans is that they use a car to go everywhere. “I knew it before I came, but I could never have imagined it was possible to literally live in a car. Here the car is almost a second house.”

Suzuki, 17, from Japan, came here because she wanted to improve her English after having studied it in Japan. In Houston she attends Stratford High School which she loves.

“American schools are huge and there are so many fun things to do that are not found in schools in Japan,” she said, listing things like pep rallies, different sports for different seasons, cafeterias, snack machines —and air conditioning.”

Her most difficult challenge on arriving was understanding and speaking English, but after eight months, she feels more at ease.

The AFS experience is also an adventure into another culture for American host families. Having a teenage son or daughter from another country provides a fresh perspective on family life and brings the opportunity to try new experiences and share family traditions.

For the Tholen family of River Oaks, for example, hosting their student has meant gaining a new family member with ties that will last forever.

“Marco completes our family. He fills a void we didn’t know existed. He adds humor and warmth, albeit occasionally a bit of teenage drama. It is hard to remember a time without him,” said Debra Tholen.

A new group of students from around the world are slated for arrival this August in the Texas Gulf Coast region for the 2008-2009 school year. About 40 students typically come to the Houston area.

For information about the program or hosting an exchange student, call Mary Perrin at 281-596-0333, visit www.afs.org/usa/hostfamily or call 800-AFS-INFO.